Transformers: Postbellum
by primusprime22
Summary: Transformers: Postbellum takes place after the Unicron Trilogy (Armada, Energon, and Cybertron). The universe around Transformers: Postbellum follows the three cartoons, the Balancing Act, Force of Habit, and the Dark Heart of Sandokan, as well as various media like toy bios.
1. Chapter 1: Battle of Paradise

2034 CE

Paradise

The blue planet was not unlike Earth. Filled with waterfalls and lush scenery, Paradise certainly lived up to its name for its primitive inhabitants who were similar to humans in many ways. To them, this was paradise indeed. In fact, the galaxy as a whole had been much safer than it had been four years ago. Of course, it wasn't as if the inhabitants knew this. Their most advanced technology was the net, used by the natives to catch fish in the streams that provided so much life to them. 

However, despite this serenity and despite the general security of the galaxy, Paradise was a paradise no longer as the inhabitants fled their burning homes in fear. All which way, laser fire roared through the air, creating crackling _pew!_ sounds in their wake. One Paradisan, a young boy who had spent all his life only knowing the simpleness of his tribe, ran as fast as his legs could take him before he collapsed on the ground, tripping on an exposed root from one of the many large trees in the area. As he tried to pull himself up, he froze when he heard the sound of one of the enemies landing behind him. It was a loud sound as metal flattened the grass and other debris like sticks that may have been lying around. The boy, terrified, looked over his shoulder and the massive robotic invader behind him, optics glowing red. The giant aimed the large rifle he was holding at the boy and it was is if time had stood still.

However, another robot, half crimson red and half cobalt blue, quickly lunged in, tackling the invader and sending the enemy tumbling away. Seizing the opportunity, the boy quickly got up and ran to join his family who had hid in one of the caves north of the tribe's camp.

Paradise, like countless other planets in the galaxy for the past ten million years, had been caught up in the war between the Transformers.

"By the authority of Optimus Prime, Supreme Commander of Cybertron, you are under the arrest on the charges of Article I and III of the Iacon Hearing of 2030." Rodimus yelled out, flipping over his Decepticon opponent while firing rounds into his enemy's face. As he landed on his feet while keeping his crosshairs on the Decepticon, the Decepticon reached towards his face in pain.

"Urgh….and… what's that legal jargon translate to, huh? Is it illegal for us to exist?" the Decepticon asked, his optics flickering as his self-repair systems tried to reconnect and reboot the damaged parts.

"Correct. The continued existence of Decepticons like you remains the largest threat to the galaxy." Rodimus said. "Look around you, for Primus's sake!" He gestures with his rifle to the burning society around them. Lasers continued to fire out across the sky while Autobots and Decepticons with aerial-based alt-modes roared against each other in dogfights.

"What's the difference between you and me, huh!?" the Decepticon asked, falling to his knees. Rodimus glared at the Decepticon as he slowly walked towards him, his crosshairs still never leaving the robot's head. He pondered the question in his head, though he had wondered about what made them different many a time. In technicality, the only difference between the Autobots and the Decepticon was their ancestry. Originally, war between the Autobots and Decepticons happened without knowledge of their early history. There was only the slight feel each side had with the feeling that the other side was a bit different. It wasn't until Vector Prime had made contact with the Autobots that more about their race's past was revealed. It turned out that the Decepticons were racially different from the Autobots, descent from one of the original Thirteen Transformers that was predisposed to commit heinous acts. Simply put, they were statistically more likely to be evil.

In the early days of the Second Cybertronian War, Rodimus had believed all Cybertronians to be equal. He left Cybertron after the centuries of war and he brought many Autobot and Decepticon defectors with him. The Autobots and Decepticons learned to cooperate with each other and eventually became the same race called the Omnicons. But that was his past.

More prominently, Rodimus remembered the levels of evil that approached and crossed the line of insanity during the Fourth Cybertronian War. That was when the Decepticon Army followed the will of Megatron who was set on reviving Unicron, the ultimate evil. While Rodimus was guilty for a while in the fact that he too wanted to revive Unicron, but Rodimus had assured himself that his intentions were pure. He wanted to help Alpha Q restore his planets.

 _Alpha Q. That's where it always comes to, doesn't it?_ Rodimus thought. _It was with his death that I came to believe that the Decepticons were nothing but animals if they would follow a monster who would do anything to end all life_. By this point, Rodimus had his blaster right against the head of the Decepticon. _And when Vector Prime confirmed that they were essentially a different race…_

The Decepticon looked up at him. Only his right optic had managed to completely reactivate.

"The difference between you and me…" Rodimus started. He paused for a moment and considered his answer. "The difference is that you're an animal that needs to be put down and it's my job to do just that." With that, Rodimus pulled the trigger. In an explosion of fire, shrapnel, and fluids, the Decepticon's head was destroyed. The body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Commander Rodimus!" a voice called out. Rodimus turned to look at the direction the voice came from. It came from Flak, who was driving over to him in his TOS-1 Buratino alt-mode. An Earth-based mode, Flak had chosen the mode after he saw Scattershot's effective alt-mode. Once he was close enough to Rodimus, he transformed into his primary robot mode. He raised his arm (a task easier said than done thanks to the large rocket launchers on his arm) in a salute. "Sir! We've destroyed a majority of their primary scouting force! They're retreating to Starscream's forwards operations base in the Taros system. Rodimus looked around and the fleeing ships in the sky. He nodded at Flak.

"Prowl, disengage!" Rodimus ordered, separating from his Powerlink form with his lieutenant, Prowl. Having separated, Prowl took his position by Rodimus's side. "Round up any prisoners and execute them and do some cleaning up. Put out these fires and see if our engineers can't rebuild these civilian areas to their state pre-battle. I want Sunrunner to remain in orbit to provide watch over this planet." Rodimus looked around for a bit. "All things considering, this was a minor confrontation. No need to report this to Optimus. It'll be a footnote to the Taros campaign."

"We might be calling this the Nebulon campaign if we fail." Flak chimed in. Rodimus glared at the officer for a second.

"Hey, watch what you're saying! We can't lose Taros! That's traitorous talk!" Prowl responded, trying to assume a threatening pose to Flak. His small stature evoked the imagery of a slightly inconvenienced chihuahua.

"Easy, Prowl." Rodimus sighed. "It's only natural to have a little concern. Since Starscream assumed command of the Decepticon remnants, we have been losing consistently in the major battles."

"These battles are becoming more and more wide-scale. It's not like the mop-up operations four years ago when the war ended. Maybe… Maybe we should ask Optimus for a formal declaration of war so we can have more resources devoted to our efforts…" Flak started.

"No." Rodimus quickly responded. "Go relay those orders, soldier." Rodimus ordered, getting off the subject. Flak looked questioningly at him before firing a salute and transforming, driving off to direct the post-battle commands. Prowl looked up at his commander.

"Rodimus… you really don't want Optimus to involve himself in this at all, do you?" Prowl asked. Rodimus looked up at the sky at the Decepticon retreat. He then glanced over at the decapitated body at his feet.

"Optimus's involvement… would ensure that this operation will never end." Rodimus looked at the flames of the burning village that reflected off the flame paint-scheme on Rodimus's chest. Rodimus's thoughts trailed to a red ball of light in the hands of a titanic monster. "... and it would ensure more loss of life."


	2. Chapter 2: If I Were To Lose a Friend

2034 CE

Washington, D.C., the United States, Earth

The elevator was descending deep underground. In a reflection of this, the spirits of General Mike Franklin and Former Secretary of State Alexis Thi Dang were also sinking into the pits of their stomachs. They stood uneasily in the elevator, shifting around uneasily. They had been called for a meeting with the new President of the United States, Alexander Holt. Alexander Holt had ran on a campaign calling for American exceptionalism and the policy of strengthening America to become part of the intergalactic community. Normally, the people would have preferred to create an organization that represented the entire planet. However, relations between nations and organizations like the United Nations had been strained Constanza-Dang Papers. Shortly after Earth had agreed to cooperate with the Autobot-led government on Cybertron in 2030, President Gabriella Constanza and Secretary of State Alexis Thi Dang made several documents public. These were documents pertaining information about the Earth Federation. It was with the release of these papers that humanity came to a horrifying conclusion: the governments of the world were collaborating with these gigantic aliens for over a decade behind the backs of the people.

Shortly after the Third Cybertronian War, nicknamed the "Armada War," a collaborative effort was established between Cybertron and Earth. In 2010, American scientists came upon an advanced Autobot forward operations base in the caves of Lincoln, Nebraska. Once peace was established on Cybertron, Optimus Prime had felt it appropriate to consolidate ties between Earth and Cybertron. The upper echelon of the United Nations Security Council came to the conclusion that the public was not ready to know that they were not alone in the universe and the decision was made to create a special, top-secret organization to help the Cybertronians. Thus, the most secret organizations of the planet collaborated to form the Earth Federation. Politicians, Scientists, and specially contracted laborers were brought to develop not only Energon Mining and Cybertronian Residential areas on Earth called "Cyber Cities," but also developed joint Earth-Cybertronian colonies on the Moon, various asteroids, and even on Mars. Then came the Fourth Cybertronian War, the "Powerlinx Battles." Earth faced invasion after invasion from alien forces and somehow the government managed to keep it all under wraps. The breaking point was the Energon Grid. As the Constanza-Dang Papers revealed, the frequency of invasions and the heightened need for security caused more and more individuals to support informing the public of the truth, most notably Alexis Thi Dang and Doctor Brian Jones. Ultimately, the Energon Grid was made as a shield on Earth to protect it from alien invasion. Throughout the night sky, red protective beams shone through the dark. As Alexis was lost in thought in the elevator, she remembered that hectic press conference with the United Nations in 2020.

"Dr. Jones, we're ordered to never leak _any_ confidential material!" Alexis scolded.

"Yes but, Alexis, we almost didn't even get the grid up in time! Earth came this close to being destroyed!" Dr. Jones replied, pinching his fingers to show how close Earth came to damnation. He glanced nervously at the curtain that led to the UN Stage. They could hear idle chattering of the news reporters and politicians. "They… They need to know."

"Dr. Jones." Alexis asserted. "You go out there and you give them the best cover story you have. Or else there will be no helping your studies, your son, or your planet." It hurt Alexis to be this harsh, but she considered herself the voice of reason even if proper reasoning was harsh. It reminded her of back when she was in school with two certain idiots who enjoyed playing around and shirking their work. Dr. Jones looked at Alexis and sighed, and walked past the curtain on to the stage.

Televised across the world, Dr. Jones took his position behind the United Nations podium. He looked into the crowd nervously. He quickly took a swig of water from the bottle on the podium and looked back at the crowd. He gulped and cleared his throat.

"Uh-" Before he could get a sentence out, the microphone made a loud screech as it adjusted to the audio levels. It lasted for about two seconds before stabilizing. Dr. Jones noticeably jumped at the noise.

"Uh, I am Dr. Brian Jones of the United Nations Special, uh, Sciences Committee." He said, struggling to remember the official public title he held. "In regards to the red, uh, lights in the sky all over the planet a few hours ago, we are unclear as to why the phenomenon occurred. I, uh…"

 _Come on, Brian! You thought of protecting the Earth with a giant shield and didn't expect anyone to question it!?_ Jones thought to himself. _Well, yes, of course! Because I didn't expect the Federation to want to remain with their secrecy even in times of need like these!_ He defended himself from himself

"Uh… The scientists in the lab think that its… uh…." Jones stumbled.

 _Come on, Brian, THINK!_

"Uh… It's the work of….Global Warming." He finally sputtered out. A moment of silence came upon the crowd in bewilderment. Dr. Jones looked embarrassed at the crowd. The silence lasted much longer than it should have. "Uh, anyway, that's just what the preliminary reports are saying so, uh, don't put too much stock into that-" Dr. Jones said quickly, picking up the water bottle and casually sidestepping away from the podium towards the curtain. He could feel Alexis' eyes of anger from where he was standing. "Thank you all for coming!" And with a laugh, Dr. Jones paced back into the room behind the curtain. Alexis looked angrier than Jones could feel.

 _The world never did get their answer, did they?_ Alexis thought to herself. _It became such a commonplace that eventually people just accepted it. And then when the war left Earth, we didn't use it again._ She continued to think about the past. How after the Powerlinx Battles and after Earth sent what it believed to be all of its remaining Energon reserves to the war effort in space, the United Nations decided that maintaining an organization to keep relations with the Autobots was more risk that reward. Despite the vast amount of Energon found in the ruins of Jungle City, the United Nations dissolved the Earth Federation. All records of the Cybertronian relations with Earth was to be locked away.

Funny how things work out.

After the Fifth Cybertronian War, there was no more covering up. Optimus Prime and the Autobots revealed themselves to the public sector. A fleet of Decepticons had filled the skies of the planet. Portals opened up in the sky, showing every human a dark, black hole that threatened to destroy their reality. By the end of the conflict, Colonel Mike Franklin was sent as a ambassador to Cybertron. A human was at the negotiation table for the peace treaty, for God's sake!

Alexis worked closely with the new President, Gabriella Constanza. President Constanza had expressed that she wished there was a more uniform way to secure relations with the Transformers. And with that, Alexis told her of the secrets of the Earth Federation. President Constanza, with all her good intentions, released the documents to show that Cybertronian-Human relations was not unnatural, but a constant in recent human history. Constanza intended to get public support on the documents to propose the recreation of the Earth Federation on a larger scale to the United Nations whom she worked closely with.

That wasn't the effect the Constanza-Dang Papers had.

The people already had a mistrust in the government, but their trust was blown out of the waters with the reveal that the governments of the world had been lying to them for decades. The idea of globalism sharply lost public approval. In democracies across the world, candidates that called for the consolidation of power for their one country and less for the world rose to power. Among these was President Alexander Holt.

And just as the thought of Holt came to Alexis' mind, the elevator opened into the dark conference room. Across the conference table, sitting in his suit, fingers interlocked to support his stern head, was President Alexander Holt. Alexis and General Franklin walked into the room. Upon entering, they noticed other men sitting at the table. Most of them were members of congress or members of the cabinet, including Secretary of State Tarzan Chameleon who replaced Alexis. Standing to the side of Holt was the Secretary of Defense, General Joseph Colton. As they approached the table, Franklin saluted his superiors.

"General. Former Secretary." Holt acknowledged them. "I need your help."

"How may we be of assistance, Mr. President?" Alexis asked, scared to hear the answer. Holt looked up at her.

"We need any information you two may have to help us catch ourselves an alien." As Holt said this, General Colton activated the screen behind him, showing live footage of light-orange helicopter. Franklin's eyes widened. He couldn't help but let out a horrified and surprised breath containing one word:

"Evac."


	3. Chapter 3: The Defense of Taros IV

2034 CE

Decepticon Forward Operations Base, Taros III

Starscream looked out into the darkness of space from his quarters. From his position, he could see explosions flaring in the dark over the various planets in the Taros System, especially at Taros IV. Though about a half a lightyear away, the planets in the system were relatively close enough to get a good perspective on the Battle. Taros I, II, and III had all been captured by the Decepticons. IV, V, and VI were putting up a fight. Both the Autobots and the Tarosians (who recently, Starscream notice, had achieved the ability to wage war in space, though poorly.) were holding out.

Starscream took a moment to reflect on how his life had turned out this way. He was banished into another dimension during the Singularity Crisis, but here he was.

 _Why?_ Starscream thought. _I had conquered an entire dimension for my own enjoyment! Why did I come back to this Primus-forsaken reality?_ He crossed his arms across his chest. He was momentarily thrown off by the fact that his body had restored itself to its standard size since Starscream used all that remained of Primus's power to return home. _Can I even go back to my conquered real ever again?_ Starscream asked himself.

 _No… No, I came here because there was something I needed to do. Something I needed to fix…_ He thought. As he looked out at the wanton destruction, he realized: _This is not it…_

Before Starscream could consider what more he wanted, there was a knock on his door.

"Enter." Starscream called. The doors slid apart and Sunstorm walked in, holding a datapad in his left arm, and saluting with his right.

"Your majesty." Sunstorm said, making his presence clear.

"Sunstorm. Hn. What is it?" Starscream had some issues with Sunstorm being his aide-de-camp on his campaign to establish the New Decepticon Empire. First was Sunstorm's personality. Sunstorm was very religious, which was something Starscream was uncomfortable with. After all, Starscream did engage Sunstorm's idol of worship in melee combat after absorbing his power. Needless to say, Sunstorm himself held a certain level of resentment towards Starscream because of this though he didn't make this sentiment public. The second issue was that Sunstorm shared a body type with Thrust, a Decepticon who Starscream didn't have the best of relationships with when he was alive. This was a leadership structure that was on the brink of explosion.

"My lord, Snaptrap's 18th Division is on the verge of routing near Taros IV. I know they're ordered to hold out until death, but Oil Slick's refreshed 7th Division has informed me that he will willingly replace the 18th should they be allowed a retreat." Sunstorm stated. Starscream let out a sigh. He turned and began to walk to the doorway where Sunstorm was standing. "...My lord?" Sunstorm said in confusion. Starscream put his hand on Sunstorm's shoulder and pushed him to the side.

"Out of my way." Starscream muttered. He left his quarters and walked down the hall. His slow pace gradually developed into a run, and soon he was outside of the building. Developing momentum as he ran, Starscream flew up with a jump and transformed into his Cybertronian jet alternate mode. As he flew, he passed through one of the available warp gates above Taros III, and came out over Taros IV. Appearing in the middle of the battlefield near a chain of asteroids where the Decepticons were taking cover, Starscream transformed to his primary mode. Taking a moment to look over the battlefield, Starscream could see the 18th Division taking cover, dead mechs floating aimlessly around like scattered toys. He could see Snaptrap, attending to a fallen soldier, looking up at Starscream with a hint of anger. Starscream smirked at his weakness, before calling out "CYBER KEY POWER!"

Starscream's subspace pocket opened up and down came his Cyber Key, revealing and powering up a Null Ray Cannon that came from his arm, while a sword came from the other. The two turrets near Starscream's hips rotated forward, and a barrage of laser fire came from the Decepticon leader at the Autobots and Tarosians. The lasers, filled with the energy of Primus, shot apart Autobot and Tarosian ships alike. Smiling, Starscream flew closer to the enemy, being relentless in his slaughter. The Decepticons looked up from their cover in awe at their leader.

"Sir, that's Starscream!" Skyfall called out on the bridge of the _Vector Prime_ , one of the Autobot warships at the front. Riptide looked at the destruction that occurred as Starscream bisected other Autobot warships of the same class as the _Vector Prime_ with his null ray.

"You got to be kidding me!" Riptide said in disbelief. " _That's_ the power of a Cyber Key!?" He glared at the main monitor which had focused on Starscream.

"Sir, we're going to die!" Swerve called out nervously. "Please, order a fall back!"

"This is the capital of the Taros Empire! An Autobot retreat would leave our friends to their dooms!" Riptide said hesitantly.

"I don't know, living to fight another day may help us save other allies in the future." Endo called out. Riptide grimaced at his choice. As each second went by, he saw more and more Autobots and Tarosians die. He even saw the _Blizzard Planet_ and the _Lincoln_ begin a retreat, only to be sliced apart by Starscream's continuous laser beams. Finally, Riptide spoke.

"Argh! Fine! Fall back, put the planet between us and them!" Riptide called.

"Aye, Captain!" Swerve replied, entering data into his console. The ship began its retreat. Suddenly, a screen opened up on the monitor with the visage of a certain crimson Autobot.

"Attention, 3rd Field Fleet! This is Commander Rodimus. You are to maintain your position! Do not retreat! Major reinforcements are coming soon!" Rodimus ordered.

"Yeah, sure, Roddy. What can stop that?!" Riptide sighed at the screen even though Rodimus couldn't hear him. Indeed, Rodimus would not be fond of the nickname 'Roddy' at all. Naturally, most of his forces called him that behind his back.

"Sir, we have incoming, closing in fast!" Skyfall suddenly said, looking at the fast blip on the radar.

"What could be-" Endo started. Just then, the ship shook as a large and long battleship shot by them at hyperspeed.

"That was… Did you catch those colors?" Endo called out, but the bridge was already busy looking behind them through the monitor.

"Transform!" The battleship cried, size-shifting and mode changing into a still relatively large robot. Its momentum from hyperspeed continued, and he carried the energy over into a punch from his red claw, sending Starscream flying. The Autobot stood there in a stance of dominance and victory, and the Autobots began to cheer. Snaptrap ordered a retreat. Riptide let a sigh of relief slip by his lips.

Omega Supreme stood ready to defend Taros IV.


	4. Chapter 4: Climbing Olympus

2034 CE

Ocean City, Earth

Far off the coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean was a large, towering construct. Ocean City was the first of the Cybertron Cities built on the planet Earth by the Cybertronians and the Earth Federation with the purpose of providing a mining platform for Energon ore that was plentiful unerneath the ocean floor. At the peak of its prestiege, Ocean City served as a hub for the Autobots and the Earth Federation. Its Energon reserves were plentful enough to support the first Energon Tower. During the early phase of the Fourth Cybertronian War, it served as the headquarters for Supreme Commander Optimus Prime himself. The population rivaled that of many of the larger cities on Earth even though everyone who saw the city was sworn to secrecy. A large highway was created that stretched from Ocean City all the way to the coast of the United States, though the public had no idea where the road led to and it was guarded twenty-four-seven by Earth Federation guards. Gardens were grown to be lush and vibrant in the beautiful city. Schools, hospitals, fisheries, and other forms of employment were available. Despite the fact that the city fell under attack multiple times during the war, it was the shining beacon of human-Cybertronian collaboration.

This was not the case today. Alexis frowned at the city which was visible far below her. She was sitting in a United States Air Force Helicopter, looking down from the window on her side of the cabin. To her left was General Franklin, who had never set sights on Ocean City before. He looked down at the city and still knew how far it had fallen from its height. Across from Alexis sat President Holt and across from Franklin sat Secretary Colton. Holt too was looking down at the city, a glare of disgust in his eyes. His frown was not one of sorrow but one of disappointment: Disappointment in humanity for building such monumentous lies behind the backs of the people. Secretary Colton, usually more reserved and quiet compared to Holt, was ruffling around with some paperwork and was deeply immersed in his work on the behalf of the President. The sounds of paper shuffling was nothing compared to the loud roar of the helicoper's blades. This roar was but an instrument in an orchestra of a cacophony as it flew in formation with many other helicopters, each holding passengers related to the mission at hand. In order to prevent themselves from going deaf, the passengers had earplugs in. Despite the muffled sounds she heard, Alexis could still hear her own voice in her head criticizing her. _How could you have let this happen?_

Ocean City was in disrepair. For one, the once great highway was no longer present. Instead, only a few signs that there was once a highway could be seen just to the east of the city. These remnants of a highway were ragged at the end and served a much better diving board into the ocean than a highway. When the Earth Federation was decomissioned, the highway underwent demolition. The pieces of the highway were deep, deep below the surface and lying on the ocean floor. Speaking of the ocean floor, what Energon reserves that were there were gone, a casualty of the Fourth Cybertronian War. Alexis imagined that the mining tools of Ocean City were rusty and dusty. The one proud and shining Autobot symbol was faded and scratched with evidence of the elements wearing it down. The paint was nearly gone and the bits of bird excrement disrespected the symbol of honor. The gardens were dry beyond imagine. The buildings around the main spire were all in disrepair as well and Alexis could even see that part of Ocean City School had collapsed into the shopping district, crushing many buildings.

Colton said some inaudiable words to the pilot, and the helicopters began their descent on Ocean City. Most helicopters landed in the main region around the main spire, but the helicopter Alexis was in approached the top of the main spire where Alexis could see the closed gate on the top, the gate that had opened many times to allow the Energon Tower to rise and help with the defense of the planet. The passengers got off at the top of the tower, and the helicopter flew back into the air to continue with other plans irrelevant to Alexis's situation at the moment. Colton raised his hand to an earpiece and spoke.

"Thanks for the flight, Lift-Ticket."

Alexis felt the ocean breeze against her as she looked around their landing area. There was evidence of damage from tropical storms and hurricanes that brushed against the city in the time that had passed. A cockroach scuttered by in the shadows, afraid of its new guests.

"Ah, yes. The great Ocean City. What a waste of tax money." Holt sighed. Alexis held in her anger. Ocean City was the reason the planet still survives! It only became a waste of tax money when the Earth Federation was shut down! "I've heard that this city can sink. Why did you Feddies leave it up?" Holt asked Alexis. Alexis gave him a glare before speaking.

"We were scheduled to, but the hydraulics were broken." Alexis would have mentioned tha the hydraulic lift/submerge system was prone to malfunctioning due to the weight of the city, but she didn't wan't to give Holt more of a reason to call the city faulty. "Before we could repair it, we passed the deadline to get out of the city. Besides..." She looked around at the state of the city. She wondered if the city being submerged would have minimized or increased the damage. "Who know what submerging the city for over a decade would have done to it."

"Ah yes, it wouldn't do us any well if the city collapsed underwater, would it?" Holt asked. Alexis had a momentary lapse of hope that Holt had a change of heart and would restore Ocean City. "If it was destroyed, how would we get our message out today?" Alexis's heart sunk at the realization that the President, once again, was only speaking out of his own interests. Franklin looked visibly upset at the President. Holt glanced over at the gate holding the Energon tower in. "Colton, are your people ready yet?" He asked. Colton tapped his earpiece.

"Alright, Joes, this is General Colton. I need those Energon reserves hooked up to the power converter by yesterday!"

"Flint here." A response came. "We're still waiting on the Energon reserve delivery, sir!" As he was saying that, a large transport helicopter that had just landed down below the spire opened up its back ramp and out soldiers came hauling carts and carts of raw Energon. "We don't have anything to power it with if we don't have the-"

"Acknowledged, Flint. I'm looking at the reserves now. It should be arriving to you in an ETA of 30 minutes."

"Yo, Joe." Flint replied.

"Just a while, Mr. President." Colton replied to Presdient Holt. "The shipment just came in from Mexico." He said, gesturing to the carts being unloaded.

"Excellent. Its lucky for us that your people found that Energon underneath the Aztec ruins in Jungle City." Holt said to Alexis. "Or else that fool Jones would have us with a handful of dead cities when he sent all our Energon into damn space!"

"Who were you talking to, Secretary Colton?" Alexis asked, ignoring Holt and changing the subject. "Was that the rumored G.I. Joe team?"

"Hrn. No. They don't officially exist and neither do those rumors, ma'am." Colton replied, irritated that his secret unit was not-so-secret.

"You know..." Alexis started, deciding to open up a bit. "The tabloids say you made your own private army to take over not only the government but the entire world as well. They talk about you like you're Napoleon or something." Colton did a mix of a sigh and a laugh.

"Those rumors are especially false. Off-the-books, the Joint Services Special Counterterrorist Group, code-named G.I. Joe, is a unit created to serve the United States in secret missions to secure American assets and to provide a defense against any potential threat the United States may face, foreign, domestic, public, or secret." Colton replied.

"Yes. In fact, they were created in reaction to the Constanza-Dang Papers." Holt added, stinging Alexis. "If the whole world can form a multinational organization and wage war in space without the public knowledge, what else can be done secretly? And what best to fight secret threats than a secret organization on the side of the angels?" Alexis, irritated, as about to fire out a retort when Colton tapped his earpiece.

"Mr. President, the Energon is ready." Colton reported.

"Excellent. You have my permission to emerge the Energon Tower." Holt replied. Colton tapped his earpiece.

"Bring it on up." A moment of silence happened. "Anytime now." Colton added.

"Sir, the computers are still powering on over here at Level 1. These things are old, outdated, and haven't been used in over a decade."

"Results, Mainframe. That's what I need."

"I understand that, General, it's just that... Hold on..." A loud clashing noise could he heard from the earpiece that made Colton jump in pain from his ear. "There we go! Just had to give it the ol' wake-up punch. Initiating Energon Tower Emerging Sequence... Ah, blast. Its not detecting an Energon Tower in the chamber!" Mainframe called out.

"Uh, sir, the computer isn't recognizing an Energon Tower in there." Colton reported to Holt.

"Hrn. Did you try plugging it back in again?" Holt joked when Alexis made a connection.

"The computers are still probably working on the first Energon Tower here that we had to-" She watched the way she would word the conclusion of the sentence. "...we had to re-deploy to protect other assets benefitial to humanity." Afterall, saying _we sent all our Energon Towers into space to protect alien planets while Optimus Prime fought Unicron_ would have irritated Holt more. "Set it to the new tower." Colton relayed the information to Mainframe.

"Uh, sir, it needs a password..." Mainframe replied.

"Do you know a password for it?" Colton asked.

"Well... Not really, it was Doctor Jones who installed it...Wait..." Alexis thought. "Try "Junior.""

A moment later, the gate on top of the spire open and a large tower slowly emerged.

"Baddabing, badda boom." Mainframe said over the earpiece. General Franklin felt a sinking feeling as the tower arose.

"Now." Holt started. "We'll fire this up and get the attention of that alien. The helicopter." Holt turned and smiled at Franklin before quickly turning to Colton. "Get your men up here. When he comes, take him down. We'll make an example out of our guest to all aliens on Earth: We are humanity." Holt looked back up at the tower. "And we are fighting back."


End file.
